inhalation. I couldn’t think of anyone else to ask about and it frustrated me.
Sitting up, I could see what was going on around me. The streetscape was bright with high-intensity lamps, headlights, and the last glowing embers of the fire. At least four fire trucks were present, dozens of firemen, and a phalanx of cops. Off to one side I saw TV cameras from KVOL, my brother’s station. It reminded me of the carnivals at the Hawai’i State Fair.
“Feel better now?” the EMT asked. “You want to cooperate? You ought to go to the hospital, let them check you out. Just to be safe.” He was a skinny, red-haired haole with a stethoscope hanging sideways around his neck. He had a bunch of different patches sewn onto his white tunic but I didn’t bother to read them.
“I’m a cop. I’ve got to find out what’s going on.” I stood up and swayed on my feet, jackhammer pounding, stomach churning, pinwheels dancing. I took a deep breath and for the first time smelled something other than smoke, a deep under layer of salt water and seaweed on an ocean breeze that was layered over with car exhaust, smoke and urban grime. I felt like the coughing was getting a little better.
“I can’t be responsible for you if you won’t listen to my advice,” the EMT said.
“So don’t be.” I patted myself down, just to make sure everything was there, and discovered that Haoa had returned my badge and cell phone to me while I was knocked out. I felt a cool breeze against my back and realized that my shirt must have been torn or charred at some point. But my jacket, which I’d wrapped around Sandra Guarino, was on the ground next to me, and I slipped it on. I flipped the phone open and scrolled down to Haoa’s cell number. He picked up on the first ring.
“Hey, brah.” I started coughing again.
“Kimo? Hey, brah, where are you?”
“I’m still back here. What’s up with Dad?”
“They want to keep him overnight, run some tests. Everybody else is okay- Lui is still over by you somewhere, running his coverage, but Mom and Tatiana and Liliha are all here. Mom has been shaking down half the hospital around trying to find out what happened to you.”
“I’ve gotta stay here for a while. You guys be okay?”
“We’ll hold it together. Liliha says if you see Lui, send him home.”
“Like he’ll do anything I say,” I said, laughing and coughing at the same time. I heard Haoa laughing too. “Hey, brah.”
“Yeah?”
I didn’t know where to start. How do you thank your brother for being there for you? It’s just what brothers do. It’s what we expect of each other, what makes the love between us so fierce, and also what makes us want to rip each other’s hair out from time to time. “Thanks,” I said. “Just thanks.”
“I hear you, brah. Aloha.”
I said good night and then scanned the crowd, looking for any face I recognized. Unexpectedly, I saw Lieutenant Sampson, incongruously wearing a suit and tie. Next to him was a tall, blonde young woman I recognized from the photograph on his desk. I started walking toward him, happy to see that my legs had begun to respond again. By taking deep breaths I was able to control the churning in my stomach, and the colored pinwheels seemed to be dying away. The jackhammer I figured I’d have to live with for a while.
“I thought it would be you, Kanapa’aka,” Lieutenant Sampson said. “I was driving Kitty home and I heard the report of this blast on the scanner. I couldn’t figure out at first how one of my detectives was already on the scene even before the fire department. I had to come by and see for myself.”
He introduced his daughter. “Kitty just made the dean’s list at UH. Tonight was our celebration. She got to pick the place, so of course she chose a restaurant that made me wear a coat and tie.”
“That explains it,” I said.
“I give the guy ties every time there’s a holiday and he never wears them,” Kitty said with a smile. “I just want to know that what I do is appreciated.”
The tie in question was a Gianni Versace, with its signature icon dead center, in a red and blue stripe. I’m not a big tie guy, like the Lieutenant, but I’d have worn that one.
Sampson grinned and then turned back to me. “So tell me what happened here.”
“We had some trouble with protesters, and I was outside with them.” I gave him a quick rundown of the evening. “I gave my cell phone and my badge to my brother and told him to call it in and then I went inside.”
“So I understand,” Sampson said. “You were lucky, Kanapa’aka. You were able to get inside and get that woman, and get out in time. They could just as easily be pulling your body out of there now, as well as the Vice Mayor’s.”
“Shira? I looked around for him when I was inside but I didn’t see him.”
“Looks like he was the only fatality, so far. Which makes this a homicide case as well as a fire department investigation.”
I wanted to work the case myself. I wanted to find the bastards who blew up my friends and my family, who didn’t care if any of us lived or died. I’d do it on my own time, work nights or weekends. I wanted to make sure the people responsible got what they deserved. I realized I had already assumed I’d be investigating, and I’d started thinking about how to do it.
“I’ve got some ideas about this,” I told Sampson. “I want to check out all the groups that have opposed this legislation. See if any of their members have criminal records. Find out where their money comes from, what their motives are.”
Sampson held up his hand. “You’re assuming you’re investigating this case. You’re not on duty tonight. You aren’t even on this shift.”
I stopped short. “I’ve got to work this case, Lieutenant. You’ve got to give it to me. If you don’t, I’ll… I’ll…”
“You won’t do anything without my authorization.” Sampson stood there menacingly, taller and bigger than I was, my boss, the man who had saved me when it didn’t look like there would be a job left to me on the force. I stared right back at him, forgetting about everything else. He blinked first. “But I’ve got enough troubles without trying to hold you back when you want to investigate. Steve Hart pulled this case, but I’m sure he’d turn it over to you, considering how many open cases he’s got.”
I remembered I had a few open cases of my own, starting with Hiroshi Mura. “You tell Hart I said it’s all right.” Sampson turned to his stepdaughter. “Wait for me in the car, will you?” She looked like she was going to give him an argument, but then she caved.
“Good night, detective,” she said. “Good luck.”
He waited until she was out of earshot and said, “You know what kind of a case this is going to be, don’t you? High profile.”
“I understand.”
“I want to make sure you do. We’ve got a prominent victim, so City Hall is going to be all over this investigation. It’s got a news hook-this gay marriage thing.” He looked at me. “And then there’s you. You’re not exactly low profile yourself.”
“There hasn’t been any coverage of me since I got back from the North Shore. I’ve been keeping my nose clean, concentrating on my job.”
“But the media is going to come after you again, you’ve got to realize that. You’re the gay cop, investigating a gay crime. You prepared for that?”
“I’ll have to be.”
“All right, then.” He nodded his head toward where the Medical Examiner’s truck was parked. “Looks like your victim’s on his way out. You’d better take a look.”
“Thanks, Lieutenant.” I reached out to shake his hand, and realized mine was grimy with smoke and pavement dust, but he took it anyway, and shook it.
“Be careful,” he said.
THE FIRE INVESTIGATOR
I started toward Doc Takayama, but on the way I saw Steve Hart and detoured over to talk to him. He was a
